Jim Walmsley gets big feature in New York Times Magazine (and a RW and SI feature on same day)

office runner wrote:

ocracoke wrote:

"Some people in the distance-running community derisively refer to ultra­runners as “hobby joggers” or “glorified fast-walkers.”

To wit: the LRC has a reputation for being puritanical a-holes.

Haha, is the author among us?

This article would not exist without LetsRun.

AP5000 wrote:

It is far easier to run 5:00 for 26.2 miles on the road than 14 ish hours at western states. It's why only 2 people have done it states yet many thousands have run 2:11:x in a marathon.

Duh, millions of people race a marathon every year, and only a few thousand have raced "western states" ever.

truth hertz wrote:

AP5000 wrote:

It is far easier to run 5:00 for 26.2 miles on the road than 14 ish hours at western states. It's why only 2 people have done it states yet many thousands have run 2:11:x in a marathon.

Duh, millions of people race a marathon every year, and only a few thousand have raced "western states" ever.

Western States is a hard draw to the marathon (consider Jared Hazen also ran 14 hours, but is no where near the marathon time Jim Walmsely will drop)

the link shows that he ran a 50k in 2:49 though on trail. That is a better comparison of fitness. No doubt a fast trail course, but (if accurate) shows he will be interesting to the last few miles. Purely conjecture, but he might be feeling pretty comfortable the last few miles compared to everyone else.

I thought that article was really good. I don't get the disdain for Jim on here. I don't think he'll finish top-3 but I want to see how high he places & I'd love to be proven wrong. It'll be interesting to see where the best male/female trail runners place.

Jim ran a 1:03-low equivalent at RNR Arizona. Faubs was quoted in that one or the SI one basically saying his 1:04 wouldn't have made us consider him a threat but because it's Jim he has to be taken somewhat seriously. We're all banking on his marathon pace being closer to his half marathon pace than it is for others for him to have a real shot. We shall see.

AP5000 wrote:

No you cannot. You most certainly cannot imagine running an 8:30 pace for 14 hours straight on technical trails at elevation with 18,000 feet of climbing and 23,000 feet of decent. You are comparing your 8:30 pace you may run for 2 hours on the road and thinking they are even remotely the same. It is far easier to run 5:00 for 26.2 miles on the road than 14 ish hours at western states. It's why only 2 people have done it states yet many thousands have run 2:11:x in a marathon.

^^^^^ yeaaa..let us know how that 8:30 pace over 100 miles and thousands of feet of elevation change works out for you...

NERunner053 wrote:

I thought that article was really good. I don't get the disdain for Jim on here. I don't think he'll finish top-3 but I want to see how high he places & I'd love to be proven wrong. It'll be interesting to see where the best male/female trail runners place.

Jim ran a 1:03-low equivalent at RNR Arizona. Faubs was quoted in that one or the SI one basically saying his 1:04 wouldn't have made us consider him a threat but because it's Jim he has to be taken somewhat seriously. We're all banking on his marathon pace being closer to his half marathon pace than it is for others for him to have a real shot. We shall see.

Yeah I really don't see anything wrong with Fauble's response, it was a legit response. Jim's 64 flat needs some context though as well. He basically winged it after 6 weeks of focused speed work after 4 years of trail running.

2/29 will be great for the sport of running. Let's all just celebrate that, for once.

Jim will surprise letsrun mensa community with top 5 or top 3. He will be very strong late race & throughout the hills.

anon24 wrote:

I think people here who denigrate ultramarathoners for their "slowness" just vastly underestimate the problems that can accrue during a double-work-day on the trail and screw with your average pace.

A lot of young runners here have no clue what you have to do to be successful in a ultramarathon. They just the the average mile time and think they can do it faster because they have done one mile on track faster than that.

I would love to drag all these youngsters to a 50 or even better a 100 miler, just to see how they would do. My guess is that almost all of them wouldn't even finish the 100 miler.

RancidCupNoodle wrote:

truth hertz wrote:

Duh, millions of people race a marathon every year, and only a few thousand have raced "western states" ever.

https://calendar.ultrarunning.com/stats/top-performances?year=2020&fbclid=IwAR211PvNzGobeRXE3T1KCyV30u03c2nOlUHKI8Z6KGXtchJeDgpqmD_tBtc

the link shows that he ran a 50k in 2:49 though on trail. That is a better comparison of fitness. No doubt a fast trail course, but (if accurate) shows he will be interesting to the last few miles. Purely conjecture, but he might be feeling pretty comfortable the last few miles compared to everyone else.

That was his time for the race, but I think the story afterward was that it was clearly short, and he knew that, so he ran some extra distance for a reported 2:53 for 50k.

Jim could come 3rd at the marathon and Letsrun will still be hating.

anon23 wrote:

hardpass wrote:

Underrated ask...as a hobbyjogger, I can at least imagine training to keep a 8:30 pace for 50-100 miles...but a 5:00 pace or better for 26.2 miles? That's absurd.

I didn't realize they ran THAT slow. Of course I've no context for how hard it is to maintain it for that distance (and I've no intention of ever finding out) but I thought they'd be hitting 7 min miles. If the best in the world does 8:30 then the average Joe must be doing walking pace.

For me, the training Jim puts up on Strava is more impressive than his ultra races. And sub 5 pace for a marathon is on another level.

Well ummm.. the WR for the 50mile, which is set by Jim, is 5:48 mile pace.

The 100 mile WR is 6:48 mile pace.

The best in the world aren't some random hobby joggers.

I think many runners in general also have no clue what is involved in actual trail running. True trails, in the backcountry and real mountains are a bit different than the dirt path with some roots in your local park. Its a whole different sport. Many runners also will not have any significant backcountry experience, running or otherwise. Difficult to rate Walmsley in the context of something like a road marathon. Our path is simple. Expect great things.

Jim could come 3rd at the marathon and Letsrun will still be hating.

Somename, this is exactly right. Most people who haven't done, say, a 28 mile run up and over an 11,000 foot mountain (all on rocky trail) have no concept of the difference between that and a local trail. The technicality, the elevation, the vert, running in snow, stopping to fill bottles (and no, not stopping your watch for that), peeing, all have a significant impact on pace. They simply can't wrap their heads around it. Let's be honest, if Galen Rupp were given 8 to 10 weeks to train for western states, he would not break 17 hours and likely not 18. His aerobic engine would do nothing to help him manage the technical downhills, the fact he's never anywhere close to 100 miles, the 100 degree heat in the canyons, how his gut would do, etc. Meanwhile, he can maybe beat Walmsley by 6 minutes in a road marathon.

Lolll wrote:

Jim could come 3rd at the marathon and Letsrun will still be hating.

I don't think that is the case. It would make the results all-the-more-interesting if he even places top five; top three would be over-the-top.

I think Jim's best bet is to go out at 2:09 pace and hope Faubs and Ward go with him and they falter late in the race.

This may be his one and only hurrah on a big stage, so do you think it makes sense to go out hard, only to blow-up?

I think he needs to try and stay relaxed, within himself, and plan to push the last 10k. He should be learning to run sub-5 min relaxed, and I think that is the only pace he should be drilling on up to race-time.

over and under wrote:

He should be learning to run sub-5 min relaxed, and I think that is the only pace he should be drilling on up to race-time.

But without over-doing it, so he comes into the race on fresh legs.

if it's his only hurrah then why not go for broke. If he was turning to the marathon full time then maybe it would be good to run within himself but the fast guys up front over the last 10k will make him pay if it comes down to a foot race. Jim's strength lies in his ability to endure touch circumstances and battle through them.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM wrote:

if it's his only hurrah then why not go for broke. ....

Because he quite likely then would go home 'broke' ('devestated', etc.)